Joint Task Force – Red Hill Update on AFFF Remediation Effort

Photo By Staff Sgt. Orlando Corpuz | A Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Pearl Harbor employee rolls a wheelbarrow of contaminated soil to a tractor as part of NAVFAC Public Works Department and Joint Task Force-Red Hill’s (JTF-RH) hazard material spill recovery operation at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF) in Halawa, Hawaii, Dec. 2, 2022. Remediation of the spill site through excavation and removal of contaminated surfaces and material was immediately initiated after an estimated 1,100 gallons of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) concentrate spilled from the fire suppression system at RHBFSF Adit 6 on Nov. 29, 2022. JTF-RH was established by the Department of Defense to ensure the safe and expeditious defueling of the RHBFSF. (DoD photo by U.S. Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Orlando Corpuz)  

HONOLULU, HAWAII, UNITED STATES

12.09.2022

Story by Capt. Kitsana Dounglomchan 

Joint Task Force Red Hill

HONOLULU – Joint Task Force - Red Hill issued the following informational update today regarding clean-up and remediation of the Nov. 29 Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) release at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility:

• On Thursday, Dec 8, representatives from the Hawaii Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency viewed footage of the AFFF release captured by a video camera outside Adit 6 of the facility. The footage is part of the Department of Defense investigation into the incident and will be publicly released when doing so will no longer affect the course of the investigation.
• The Navy continues to collect soil samples from the release site to test for PFAS. All samples are sent to an off-island U.S. EPA-certified lab for testing. The first results are expected next week.
• As part of the ongoing water monitoring, the Navy is collecting ground-water samples from nine monitoring wells in the vicinity of the AFFF release site, as well as groundwater samples from the Red Hill shaft, to monitor for AFFF constituents.
• Soil excavation in and around the spill release site is complete. In coordination with regulatory agencies a storm culvert that runs beneath the access road near the spill site is scheduled for removal.

The latest photos of the site remediation may be found at: https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/JointTaskForceRedHill

Joint Task Force - Red Hill was established by the Secretary of Defense to ensure the safe and expeditious defueling of the RHBFSF. Importantly, Joint Task Force – Red Hill is also committed to consistent engagement with local stakeholders to rebuild trust with the people of Hawaii.

For more information about JTF-Red Hill, or to provide public comment via our contact form, please visit https://www.pacom.mil/JTF-Red-Hill/.

• Date Taken: 12.09.2022
• Date Posted: 12.09.2022 17:12
• Story ID: 434888
• Location: HONOLULU, HAWAII, US